


interspace

by lazerkitten



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, episode 7 spoilers, miya is a brat but he gets it, reki talks about his feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29627631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazerkitten/pseuds/lazerkitten
Summary: Miya is fed up with Reki's absence and goes to talk some sense into him. It doesn't go as he expected it would.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 149





	interspace

It had been a few days since anyone had heard anything from Reki. Gone were the nights of meeting up at the track on the mountain or even just casual get-togethers. The once-boisterous redhead was more or less radio silent; if Langa hadn't mentioned that he’d still seen him at class and at work, Miya might have thought he'd dropped off the face of the earth.

Miya was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. He could connect the dots pretty well, especially since he'd seen it all before: the way Langa got better and better, the way Reki got quieter and quieter. Miya had thought that his two friends would figure it out in due time, but the tournament was at hand and Reki was still more or less a ghost.

Miya eyed Langa as he warmed up on the crudely-made half pipe before his turn on the track for his qualifier run. The Canadian was completely zeroed in on his goal, soaring to heights that would be dangerous for anyone with lesser skill. Miya knew he wouldn't have any problems making the cutoff, especially since Miya himself had qualified easily and (loathe as he was to admit it) Langa was a better skater. Not where technique was concerned, no, but in the ways that mattered for an event like  _ S _ .

Miya turned away and scanned the crowd, most of whom were looking on in awe. The more he thought about it, the more angry he was that Reki wasn't there to cheer on their friends. Miya thought that was his whole shtick - to help push others to be their best and cheer them on. Reki was supposed to be a good person. He wasn't supposed to be a slime.

That idea propelled the young skater to stride over to where Shadow was propped against the craggy mountainside bragging about his own recent qualifying time. His painted face gazed smugly down at the young protégé approaching him.

"Impressed by me, too, kid?" Shadow gave a self-important smile before Miya wiped it off his face.

"No,” the boy deadpanned. Then, without missing a beat, “Do you know where Reki lives?" The question cut off any yowling that Shadow might have done at the insult. The older man narrowed his eyes as he considered it.

"I don't know what the address is, but I could probably remember how to get there," he mused aloud, a hand scratching his chin.

"Great, let's go." Miya spun on his heel and headed toward the little yellow flower shop car. He heard Shadow spluttering behind him, but the larger man still dutifully followed with skateboard in hand.

The ride back to the city was quiet. The forest passed by, then gave way to homes and streetlights. The calm night belied the excitement both of them knew was happening up on the mountainside; Langa’s turn to skate had been coming up, and it was a spectacle every time.

"Don't you think we should've waited for Langa?" Shadow finally asked, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

"No," Miya answered easily, "There's something going on with Reki and it has to do with Langa."

"Then wouldn't it make more sense for Langa to be here?"

"Don't be an idiot," Miya snapped, "Obviously Reki can't talk about it with Langa or else he would've already."

"I guess that makes sense," Shadow begrudgingly ceded, "Reki's been gone for a while. Thought for sure he'd come back for the tournament."

Miya didn't respond to that. The silence resumed until they pulled up to an unassuming little house in an outer district.

"This is it, I’m pretty sure," Shadow said, shifting the car into park. Miya unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed his board before addressing his chauffeur.

"Go ahead and go back, old man. I'll catch a bus home from here." He shut the door before Shadow could get up in arms about his age again. Miya had other arguments to get into tonight.

He lifted the latch on the gate and walked up to the front door. He knew it was late, but some things couldn't wait any longer. He knocked and a half-minute later, a woman he assumed to be Reki's mom opened the door.

"Can I help…" she trailed off when she noticed the skateboard under his arm, then nodded. "You must be here to see Reki?"

"Yes, ma'am," Miya bowed before being ushered in by the lady. He glanced around as he was led through the house (it was bigger than it looked on the outside) while the woman talked.

"I'm so glad he has a friend to visit. He won't talk about it, but I think he and Langa had a falling out," she sighed before gently tapping on a sliding screen panel. She smiled tiredly at the answering grunt from inside.

"Reki, you have a skateboard friend here, it's…" she turned to Miya, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"It’s Miya," he replied, pushing down his desire to put his fist through the screen before he raised his voice. "Come on, Reki, I know you've stayed up later than this!"

The boy rolled his eyes when he heard a muffled groan come from the other side. The panel inched open and the absentee redhead appeared. Miya's eyes widened to saucers.

Reki looked terrible. His untamable locks were floppy and sad, hanging over his face without his trademark headband. The dim lighting of the hallway did his weary complexion no favors, and his clothes were wrinkled as hell.

Frankly, he looked like shit.

"What's up, Miya?" Reki half-heartedly greeted, leaning against the doorframe.

"You tell me," Miya fired back, hands on his hips and his board tucked under his arm. Reki hesitated, then said, "Why don't we go out to the workshop? Mom, you can go to bed, we might be up for a bit." 

Reki's mom nodded and walked away, leaving the two boys to themselves. Reki heaved a breath and folded his arms behind his head. "C’mon, Miya, this way."

Miya followed Reki outside to a small shop that housed various skateboarding tools and materials. Reki flipped on the lights and offered him a chair, but Miya turned his nose up at it. The older boy shrugged and had barely sat down before the young protégé lit into him.

"I thought you weren't a slime, Reki," he accused, acid dripping from his words, "but here you are, and no better than the slimes I once called friends. You're doing the same thing, quitting because you're jealous of Langa!"

Reki folded his hands behind his head but didn't meet the boy’s glare. "If that's what you want to think, then fine."

Miya's anger spiked tenfold. "I thought you were better than that, but I guess not. Langa doesn't need your help, anyway! You’re just another street skater slime who can’t cut it with the big guys and --"

"You think I don't know that?!" Reki shouted, suddenly leaning forward in his chair and his brown eyes locking onto Miya’s own green ones. "You think I don't know that I've been holding him back because I suck? Newsflash, Miya, but I'm not exactly winning every beef I skate like he does."

"So what if he wins? You should still be happy for him. That’s what friends do, or so I’m told." Miya crossed his arms over his chest and sneered. He wasn’t going to entertain Reki’s little pity party just because Langa was a better skater. He had better things to waste his time on.

Reki shoved his hands in his hair, roughly pulling at the crimson strands as he exclaimed, "I'm always happy for him! I just want to be good enough for him to skate with, and I'm  _ not! _ " His words echoed in the air between them. He sighed and reluctantly continued.

"I'm not a good skater. You know that, you literally just said it to my face," Reki laughed mirthlessly, "I know what everyone says about me. I guess I just never realized how bad I was until Langa left me in his dust. He's so awesome, and he only gets better. Langa is straight up the most amazing person I know! And me?" He shook his head, "I can't keep up. And I don't want to be the one to keep holding him back."

Miya was speechless. That hadn't been what he'd expected at all. He figured he'd come over here, chew Reki out for being jealous, and go from there. But this? Miya didn't know how to feel about this.

Scratch that, he felt guilty. Like, really guilty. The harsh but mostly harmless teasing he gave to Reki wasn't as benign in hindsight. He recalled the things he and Shadow had told him weeks ago at the last competition Reki had been to and he deeply regretted them. He didn’t know how to deal with that, so he kept being angry instead.

“Then don’t hold him back, but you could still at least be his friend,” Miya spat. “And besides, it’s not like you’re completely inept. You  _ did _ get the privilege to skate at S, after all.”

Reki slumped back in his chair with a self-deprecating chuff. “Langa doesn’t think it’s exciting to skate with me. He’d rather skate with the jerk who broke my arm and didn’t feel bad about doing it.”

“So? Everyone knows that beefs are dangerous.” Miya rolled his eyes. “Are you scared of them now? Because of ADAM?”

“Don’t you get it?” Reki seethed, eyes narrowing at the young boy, “ADAM is a different kind of dangerous. It’s not just Shadow’s stupid firecrackers or crashing into trees. The guy straight up didn’t care if I died on that track, and Langa... Langa thinks he’s exciting.”

“ADAM is a talented skater,” Miya pointed out ruthlessly, “and Langa wants to see how he stacks up. He was robbed of that chance before.”

“Yeah, I know,” Reki mumbled. “He would’ve beat ADAM that first time, too, if the police hadn’t shown up. I wish that could’ve been enough for him.”

Miya didn’t have to say the obvious, that there was no way that could’ve ever been enough for Langa. Langa, who liked to live on the edge and tempt fate with newer and more dangerous stunts, who chased the adrenaline high of competition and coming out on top. That was something Miya could understand; he’d been doing that himself for most of his life. He also knew intimately what it was like for others to leave him behind while he soared ahead of them.

“Nothing bad happened to him that time, though. What makes you think that’ll be different this time? Langa isn’t you,” he pointed out.

If possible, Reki slouched even further in his chair. “No, he isn’t,” he muttered. “He’s my best friend, Miya, and I...I don’t want anything to happen to him. Especially not because of Skateboard Dio.”

“...’Skateboard Dio?’”

“Shut up. It fits him, okay? Super creepy, bad fashion sense, probably drinks the blood of his enemies.”

“Alright, weeb, I get it.” Miya wouldn’t admit it, but the little smile that Reki gave made him feel a little relieved. Silence fell between them then, louder than ever. Miya wasn’t sure what to say; he had never been the kind of guy others came to for comfort, and it turned out Reki wasn’t actually being a complete slime. The protégé could kind of see where his friend was coming from, even if he didn’t completely comprehend it.

“He promised,” Reki murmured tonelessly, breaking the silence. “He promised me he wouldn’t skate against ADAM again.”

“Are you going to hold it against him?” The younger boy raised an eyebrow. Reki didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. Miya knew he wasn’t that kind of person. He went on, “Does Langa understand why you want to keep him from skating against ADAM?”

"I tried, but it didn't matter. He thinks ADAM is amazing, and that's all there is to it."

If Reki had sounded even the tiniest bit petulant about it, Miya would have walked out then and there. But he wasn’t, he just sounded...tired. Tired and sad.

“You know,” the younger boy started, “Langa wouldn’t be where he is without you. Didn’t you give him his board? I know you’re the one who modifies it for him. He’d be nothing without you.”

Reki instantly exploded. “How can you say that?! Langa is incredible!” However, his fire was gone as soon as it had appeared. “All I want to skate with him, but I’m not...I’m just...ugh.” He dropped his head in his hands.

Miya thought he was finally starting to get it. For Reki, it wasn't about winning. It was about the fun of skating and the joy of sharing something he loved with the people - or person, it seemed - closest to him. It was probably hard for him to enjoy it when the person he shared everything with was starry-eyed for the man who had taken all of that away from Reki, at least while his arm had healed.

“Okay,” Miya eventually relented, “but I think you should talk to Langa about it again.”

Reki was shaking his head before Miya even finished his sentence. “It wouldn’t make a difference. He’s already in the tournament, and you and I both know he’s going to make it to the finals and skate against ADAM just like he wants to.”

Come to think of it: “Why aren’t you in the tournament, Reki? Even if your style sucks, you aren’t the worst skater I’ve ever seen.”

It was Reki’s turn to roll his eyes. “Wow, thanks. And no, I don’t want anything that has to do with that creep. If that means sitting out for a few races, then fine. At least it’s my choice this time.”

Miya was quiet while he thought about that. He hadn’t realized that the ordeal with ADAM had affected Reki that badly. He just figured that after Reki’s arm had healed that he’d be right back to how he was before it happened.

Still… “You could be there for Langa.” Miya carefully watched Reki’s expression tighten before it dropped. The redhead didn’t say anything.

"He'd be happy to see you there, at least," Miya pressed.

"...we'll see,” Reki hedged, and the younger boy didn’t push beyond that. Miya wasn’t great with emotions, but he knew enough to recognize when he was out of his depth.

Luckily, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out to see a message from none other than Langa himself.

_ [[Shadow said you're with Reki.]] _

Figures that Shadow couldn’t keep his ugly trap shut. Miya tapped out a quick  _ [[and?]] _ before pocketing his phone again.

"I'm going home,” he announced, “It's late and you depress me."

"Whaaa? What about all of the bonding we just did?!"

"Is that what it was?" He sniffed, and Reki smiled. The older boy stood from his chair and stretched his arms over his head.

“C’mon, then, the bus stop is just down the road.”

Miya bristled. “I know where it’s at,” he snapped, “I don’t need you to come with me.”

“Need to stretch my legs,” Reki returned, already halfway out of the shop. “Not that someone as short as you would understand.”

Even as Miya spat curses and chased after his friend, he was secretly happy to see that deep down, Reki was still Reki. Before long, they’d made it to the bus stop. Just in time, too, since the bus had rounded the corner two roads down and was headed in their direction.

Both boys watched the bus as it slowly approached. Miya’s phone vibrated in his pocket again, but he ignored it. He looked at Reki out of the corner of his eye.

“I still think you should talk to him,” Miya said quietly.

“Yeah, maybe,” came the equally quiet answer. They didn’t say anything else until the bus doors hissed open. Miya hitched his board up a little higher under his arm and ascended the steps on the mostly empty bus. Once he was seated and the bus had started moving again, he looked out the window to see Reki waving at him. He gave a small wave back, then reached for his phone.

Langa again.  _ [[Is he okay?]] _

Miya’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard, debating on how to answer. Reki wasn’t dead, no, but he wasn’t exactly thriving. The young skater settled on  _ [[he’s alive]] _ , since that seemed to cover it best. Reki hadn’t entirely lost his spark, but it was clear that he’d changed. Miya didn’t know if he’d ever return to the way he was.

He thought about how fiery Reki had been when he’d first squared off against ADAM, how his passion for skating had burned bright in the face of the masked matador who had immediately counted him out. It contrasted sharply with the Reki he had seen tonight. Still spirited, but the blaze was more of a flickering tea light, easily snuffed out if not taken care of properly.

Miya leaned his head against the window. He wasn’t the type of person to take care of others like that. He wasn’t sure any of them in their little group were. Well, maybe Joe or Cherry, so long as they weren’t together. He didn’t know where Cherry lived, but he knew where Joe’s restaurant was. He’d stop by there tomorrow and make the man talk to Reki.

Mind made up, he opened up the mobile game he’d been playing the last couple days as Okinawa passed by outside.

**Author's Note:**

> let reki talk about his feelings 2k21


End file.
